Develop a Unique Story

One of the best tips I can give is to really think about the story that you’re pitching to journalists before you approach them. If you simply contact the editorial staff of a mainstream media outlet and say that they should write about you without giving them a unique angle they’re unlikely to respond positively (if they respond at all).

Stories about a blog are not that exciting to write – so what angle can you give them? What have you done, experienced or achieved that is going to grab people’s attention? What relevance does your story have to the readers or viewers of the media outlet?

Note: you don’t just manufacture these stories out of nothing but if you’re on the look out for opportunities they do come up. They might emerge out of a post that you write that gets attention, causes some controversy (controversy is a great way to get media attention), gets picked up by other blogs etc – or it could even emerge out of something that someone else does that you could comment about or that you’re featured in.

For example I was featured in a ‘top Aussie bloggers’ list last year and shot a link to the list to a national newspaper – the story got picked up with me as one of the bloggers featured.

Think (inter)National AND Local

I know one blogger who complains every time that I bring up mainstream media that he’s never had any success. When I ask who he’s pitched his story to he tells me that he’s approached the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC and a few other top tier news outlets.

While I commend him for thinking big – a more successful approach is likely to be to approach not only the big guns but smaller outlets. For one you’ll increase your chances of success in approaching a more local outlet – but you might also see the story picked up by larger media outlets (or you can use it to pitch to them later).

Write the Story

I’m not suggesting that you fully write an article when pitching mainstream media – but I’ve found that when I pitch a story and when I do a little extra work in showing how the story might look that journalists sometimes take what you present them with and build upon it.

So do some work on your pitch. Provide the media outlet with any facts, figures, stats or quotes that might help the journalist do their job more quickly and efficiently.

Be Approachable

Sometimes it isn’t a matter of pitching your story to mainstream media as them approaching you. This grows as your blog and profile grows but you can enhance your chances of being approached by being contactable.

An essential item for blogs should always be a way to contact the blogger. Whether this be by providing an email address, phone number and/or having a contact form – if you’re able to be contacted (and make it easy to be) you’ll drastically increase your chances of being approached.

Also useful for this is developing an about page that contains the type of information that journalists are looking for. Include information like your biographical information, links to a FAQ page and even a specifically written Press Page that shows how other press outlets have covered your story.

Press Releases

I’ve had limited experience and success with writing press releases but know at b5media that we regularly use them and that they are very useful – particularly when launching new blogs/portals.

Build Profile

Perhaps the most important thing to do is to work hard at building a fantastic blog and having a great profile in your niche.

I’ve found that as I’ve done this that mainstream media outlets have increasingly come to me and that on the occasions that I’ve approached them that they’ve been much more open to covering me.

This of course comes with time and you can’t manufacture it over night – but I say it to give bloggers having problems getting on the radar of media a little encouragement – stick at it and build a great blog and it’ll come in time.

Keep In Touch with Journalists

If you do strike it lucky and get featured in a story – keep the contact details of the journalist that writes the story. If they’ve written one article they might be willing to do another. Also let the journalist know that if they ever need a quote for another story that they are writing that you’d be willing to take their call.

11 Tips from my Friends on Getting Media Coverage For Your Blog

I asked my Twitter followers for their tips on getting press coverage for blogs. Here’s some of what they said:

Related Posts

Problogger.net runs on the Genesis Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Genesis provides the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With the same idea as your twitter follower #4 (GrantGriffiths), I just worked on good content and I was contacted directly for a radio interview on a major Spanish radio station (link with English translation) all about my blog, without me even trying.
It was an excellent experience and I used the transcript of the interview on my blog for key words for Google searches (as a video blog there are very few words for Google to latch on to).
But despite them having an audience of millions, and me very clearly giving the web address during the interview, according to Google Analytics my travel from Spain (where the listeners would have been) did not increase above normal that day (or that week). I’d love to know how to approach it differently next time I’m approached – it just seems that other media is a very bad way of promoting a blog. People are eager to click a link waiting for them on a different website, but not to get a pen and paper and write down a web address (or commit it to memory) while listening to the radio. Does anyone have any suggestion as to how I should have gone about it differently? :)

I like your tips though I totally do not agree to the point of Indian Press scenario. Even though you develop a unique story, send press releases – it may end to dumps! If the journalist has powers, fine, otherwise even if he’s impressed he gets helpless.

Build Profile and Keep in touch with Journalist – gr8 points and works – Yet, You need a great Profile. All journalists are not Internet savvy and if you are able to convince, you are through and once you are in, it’s a repeat appearance as they call you again related to various other stories and interviews! In my city, the top most Times of India – the most widely read has repeated interviews of the same old influential faces (even I used to be one) but now, as the staff changes, the old faces go away and the influenced faces appear with repeats…Influence plays a big role with a great personal Bio.

Mainly, Impressing and being influential with journalists works alongwith quality content and inputs. Why, even the politicians have to pester journalist so that they get coverage…